We beg to differ.
Human rights are universal, applying to all human beings, right? Poor, rich, criminals, police, politicians, businessmen, shop owners, workers, students: everyone is entitled to the recognition and respect of his/her human rights. Human rights law, and law enforcement, exist to protect all. In the Philippines, the call to respect human rights is being used to…
Thanks to the Internet, we are not only able to communicate with other people around the world and share our views. We can also see what others share… and we balk and rage at some of the things we see. So here’s another thing the Internet affords us; we are now able to fling our…
Recent events, such as terrorism committed by Muslims, have led to some people banking on it as a rationale for wanting religion wiped off the face of the Earth. Atheists especially are excited, using this as proof of their claim that religion is the cause of all conflict. However, I disagree. It is still a…
Read More “Blaming Religion for Conflict is just another Fashion Statement” »
My fellow writers here in GRP have explained that someone iron-handed like Rody Duterte has become popular for the wrong reasons (or maybe the right reasons, but in the wrong way). Duterte is seen as a figure like Ferdinand Marcos, who is thought to have enforced order through harshness in Martial Law. There are people…
After my post on the gun culture of the United States, I realized I was missing one key factoid to my argument: the “culture of honor” in the American South. In short, this culture, mostly attributed to the Southern (or Confederate) culture of the U.S. and related to the pro-gun culture, dictates that people should…
So the story goes like this: Sometime in April of last year, a self-styled “prophet” — an Indian man whose name is either “Sadhu Sundar Selvaraj” or “Vincent” — of a hiterto unheard-of religious organization called Jesus Ministries delivered a fire-and-brimstone sermon to a gathering in the Cuneta Astrodome, in which he prophesied, among other…
Read More “ABS-CBN’s “Flesh-Eating Disease” Hoax Takes a Sadly Predictable Turn” »
Back in the Dark and Middle Ages, the Church was practically the State. It maintained a firm and oppressive grip on the lives of the people, bending them to its allegedly holy will. People suffered and were persecuted, and all of these were done in the guise of God’s divine providence. Faith became the sharp…
Read More “The 27th Law: Playing on People’s Need to Believe” »
After Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago addressed the prosecution panel with her now infamous “gago” speech last week, the onion skins started flying. A few days after, Fr. Arevalo, spiritual adviser to the Aquinos, came out with a statement saying that by calling Aguirre a fool, through the use of gago, Senator Santiago is worthy of…
Read More “The fires of hell – more fun in the Philippines” »